The former chief accountant of Vietnam’s Vinashin Ocean Shipping (Vinashinlines) has been arrested for his alleged involvement in misappropriating millions of dollars from the state-owned company, reports say.
Tran Van Khuong is now being investigated by Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security on charges of embezzlement, according to reports in the Vietnamese press.
His arrest comes three months after the Ministry arrested Giang Kim Dat, who later admitted to embezzling $18.6m while working as a sales manager at Vinashinlines.
While working as a consultant Tran Van Liem, then CEO of Vinashinlines, Dat allegedly colluded with foreign partners to fix prices during chartering and purchasing vessels to appropriate funds from the state. Liem began a 19-year prison sentence in 2012.
Eight other executives of Vinashin, including chairman Pham Thanh Binh, have each been sentenced to between three to 20 years in prison for misappropriating funds, which caused losses to the company of over VND980bn ($40.98m).
Vinashin’s debt totalled $4.5bn by 2010, prompting investigators to begin making enquiries into dubious business deals.
Vinashinlines, previously part of the Vinashin shipbuilding group, filed for bankruptcy protection in Vietnam in April 2014.
